Carrier or holder for bottles and the like



Aug. 5, 1958 N. LA GUARDIA 2,846,115

CARRIER OR HOLDER FOR BOTTLES AND THE LIKE Filed Dec. 24, 1954 3Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 5, 1958 151. LA GUARDIA CARRIER 0R HOLDER FORBOTTLES AND THE LIKE Filed Dec. 24, 1954 3 Sheets-Sheet? 3/? WXgVENTR Yaz forfie ys'.

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CARRIER GR HOLDER FOR BOTTLES AND THE LIKE Nicholas La Guardia, Buffalo,N. Y. Application December 24, 1954, Serial No. 477,448

3 Claims. (Cl. 220-113) This invention relates to carriers or holdersmade of cardboard or other flexible sheet material and adapted tosupport bottles, cartons, or the like.

Carriers of this type now available are not readily adaptable for use inconnection with supporting comparatively heavy bottles, such for exampleas quart bottles or cartons, of milk or other liquids, since the weightof such bottles or the like, tends to tear or distort the carriers sothat the bottles or cartons are apt to fall out of the same.

It is, consequently, one of the objects of this invention to provide acarrier of improved construction for cartons or bottles and which is ofadequate strength and is so constructed as to reduce the tendency of thecartons or bottles to tear or otherwise damage the carrier. It is alsoan object to provide a carrier of this type which can be readilyconstructed and which is formed from the minimum quantity of sheetmaterial. A further object is to provide carrier of this type in whichthe bottles or cartons are supported in horizontal positions. A furtherobject is to provide a carrier of this type in which the cartons orbottles themselves act to reinforce the carrier so that the resistanceof the same to tearing or breaking is materially reduced.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the followingdescription of one embodiment of the invention and the novel featureswill be particularly pointed out hereinafter in connection with theappended claims.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is an end view of a container embodying this invention, showingthe same with the parts thereof arranged to receive the articles to besupported thereby.

Fig. 2 is a side view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view thereof.

Figs. 4 and 5 are sections taken respectively, on lines 44 and 5-5 ofFig. 2.

Fig. 6 is a face view on a smaller scale of the carrier when in foldedor collapsed condition.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view thereof when ready to receive the articlesto be carried.

Fig. 8 is a side elevation of a carrier of modified construction showingthe same in folded or collapsed condition.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view thereof when ready to receive articles tobe carried.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary side view thereof showing a bottle in placetherein.

The carrier includes a central panel which is made up of two layers,webs or sheets 11 and 12 of the material of which the carrier is formedand these two layers or sheets may either be in one piece folded at onevertical edge thereof, or of two separate pieces secured together atcertain portions thereof as hereinafter described, preferably by meansof a suitable adhesive. In the construction shown by way of example, thecentral panel is formed of a single piece of material scored and foldedalong the edge 13 as shown in Fig. 6. The lower edges of the two panelsare folded along the line indicated by the broken Patent 0 2,846,115Patented Aug. 5, 1958 line 14 in Fig. 6, so that some of the material atthe bottom of each layer or sheet is turned over to form a reinforcingweb as shown at 15. At the upper ends of the sheets or layers of thepanel the material of at least one of the sheets is also folded overalong the fold line 22, Fig. 6, to form a doubled-over portion 16 whichreinforces the upper end of the central panel, so that a hand grip orholding part 17 may be partly punched out of this reinforced top portionin the usual manner. This doubled-over part is glued or cemented to bothsheets, thus forming a reinforced handle portion by means of which thedevice may be lifted and carried.

The carrier shown by way of example is formed to hold six articles, suchfor example as cartons or bottles, but it will be obvious that thecarrier may be formed to hold two, four, eight or more articles.Primarily the carrier is intended for use in connection with the holdingof milk cartons which are made of cardboard and which are approximatelysquare in horizontal cross section, but the carrier may also be used tohold glass bottles and other articles, regardless of whether they are,square in cross section or of any other cross sectional shape.

The two sheets which comprise the central panel of my improved carrieror holder are provided with a plurality of cuts formed so that themiddle portions thereof may be extended outwardly to form side wallparts which engage sides of the articles and spacing members integrallyconnecting with the sheets of the panel and the side wall parts, to holdthe side wall parts in place.

As clearly shown in Fig. 7, the middle portions of the two sheets 11 and12 of the central panel are cut and scored in such a manner as to formon each sheet an outer Wall for engaging the outer faces of the articlesand a plurality of outwardly extending ledge or spacing membersintegrally connected both to the central panel and to the outer wall.These ledge or spacing members are so arranged at intervals as to formthe upper and lower walls of spaces in which the articles arepositioned. For example, 1-8 represents the top walls of the upperspaces or compartments for containers. These top walls or spacingmembers are connected with the sheets 11 and 12 of the central panel byfolds 19 and 20 with a part 21 of the upright outer wall members. Beloweach outwardly extending spacing member 18, two spacing members 24 areswung outwardly from the sheets of the central panel and connectedtherewith by folds formed by scored lines 23. Consequently, an articlemay be supported by inserting the same into the space between thecentral panel and the outer wall part 21 and between the outwardlyextending spacing members 18 and 24. The weight of the article is thensecurely held in place and prevented from sliding out of this positiondue to the fact that the weight of the same will act in a direction toswing the outwardly extending parts 18 and 24 downwardly and suchdownward swing would result in swinging the outer wall part 21 towardthe panel. Such swinging, however, is resisted by the article iself,particularly if the same is of square cross section, thus causing theouter wall part 21 to securely grip the article by pressing the sametoward the central panel. Since the outwardly extending parts 18 and 24,the outer wall portion 21 and the central panel are all formed integral,it will be obvious that these parts will have ample strength to resistthe tendency of the bottle or carton to tear the carrier.

Additional carrying capacity is provided by making the outer wallportion 28 in the form of an extension or It will be obvious that in theuse of this construction an article may be inserted between the outerwall portion 28 and the central panel'and between the spacing members 24and 29. Articles in these compartments will be gripped between the outerwall and the central panel in the same manner as described in connectionwith the upper compartments.

Similar spaces can be provided for another pair of articles below thoselast mentioned by providing additional outwardly extending spacingmembers 32 bent outwardly from the sheets or layers 11 and 12. The lowerweb 15 is formed integral by means of a fold 33 with another part 34 ofthe outer wall. By forming all of the outer wall part 21, 28 and 34 of asingle integral piece the carrier is further reinforced againstbreakage. The folding of the parts from their collapsed positions shownin Fig. 6 to their outer operative positions is facilitated, since theouter wall parts 21, 28 and 34 can all be moved outwardly as a unit andwill carry with them the outwardly extending upper and lower wall orspacing members 18, 24, 29 and 32.

Even if the carrier is made for six or more articles, and if a personwishes to carry a smaller number of articles in the carrier, this canreadily be done by arranging the articles so that they will be dividedas near equally as possible on opposite sides of the central panel.

Fig. 6 shows the blank after the two halves 11 and 12 of the same havebeen folded along the line 13. All parts of the two sheets or layers ofthe panel which are not folded outwardly from the same are preferablysecured together by means of a suitable adhesive. It will be noted,however, that when the carrier is loaded the pressure of the articlesdue to their Weights will be toward the central panel so that there isno tendency to separate the two sheets or layers 11 and 12 of thecentral panel from each other.

The carriers when empty occupy very little space for the reason that theparts which are later folded out, lie flatly against each other. Inorder to facilitate the outward folding of the sides and spacing membersof the carrier, each of the sheets or layers 11 and 12 of the centralpanel is provided with a cut-out or finger hole portion 40, thesecut-out portions being preferably arranged out of alinement with eachother so that a person inserting a fingernail into the space 40 of onesheet can readily grasp the part to be folded outwardly, so that theside wall and the spacing 18, 24, 29 and 32 will bend about the scoredlines or creases and move as a unit from their positions shown in Fig. 6to their operative positions shown in Figs. 1 to and 7. Similarly thecorresponding parts of the other layer or sheet of the central panel maybe folded outwardly.

In order to further facilitate the packing of the carriers when empty,into the minimum. of space, the upper portions of the carriers may bescored along the lines 41 so that the upper portion, when the carrier isin folded or collapsed position, may be folded downwardly against one ofthe layers of the central panel.

When the carrier is used with cartons made of cardboard or the like,these will be readily gripped by the spacing members and outer sidewalls so that endwise or horizontal displacement of the same in thecarrier is prevented. However, when glass bottles are placed in thecarrier, since they have smoother surfaces, there will be less frictionbetween them and the parts of the carrier, and consequently, it ispreferable to provide additional means for preventing endwise movementof the bottles on the carrier. In the construction shown for thispurpose, in Figs. 8 to 10, the carrier is of the same construction as inFigs. 1 to 7, except that each sheet or ply 45 and 46 of the centerpanel is provided with extensions 48on the free outer side edges thereofwhich are foldable along lines 49. These extensions are formed toprovide gripping devices for engaging the necks of the bottles and anysuitable or desired construction may be used for this purpose. Forexample, these extensions 43 are provided with short radial cuts formingteeth or fingers 50 which may be bent outwardly along creases 51. Thefree ends of these teeth are formed by a partly circular cut forming acentral tab 52 which may also be folded along a crease line 53, thusforming a hole in each of these extensions which is considerably smallerthan the upper ends of bottles, but through which the ends of bottlesmay be inserted by bending the teeth 50 outwardly. After the usualflange 54 of the upper end of the bottle has passed through the cut-outportion of an extension 48, the teeth 50 will snap back toward theiroriginal positions, thus engaging the neck of the bottle as shown inFig. 10 to prevent endwise movement of the bottle. The teeth 50 engagingthe flange 54 of the neck of the bottle will prevent the bottle frommoving to the right in Fig. 10, and the fact that the hole or openingfoimed in the extension 48 is of smaller diameter than the tapering neckof the bottle will prevent the bottle from moving to the left.

It is sometimes desired to position the carriers on their sides so thatcartons or bottles contained therein will be supported in uprightpositions. When in such positions there is less danger of the contentsbecoming spilled. It will be noted, however, that while the articles arevery firmly gripped by the outer walls of the carrier when it is liftedor transported with the articles arranged horizontally therein, yet whenthe carriers are on their sides so that the articles stand upright thereis nothing to hold the articles in the carrier. When it is desired toprovide carriers of the type shown with means for supporting articlestherein in upright positions, I preferably provide a foldable partformed integral with the carrier and which may be swung about itsconnection with the carrier into a position to extend partly across thebottoms of the articles when arranged in the spaces in the carrier. Forthis purpose, I provide each of the two layers 11 and 12 comprising apanel at their edges with outwardly extending parts which may be foldedto extend crosswise of the spaces of the carrier. For example, in theconstruction shown in Figs. 1 to 7, the layer 12 is provided with anoutwardly extending part 60 and the layer 11 is provided with a part 61extending outwardly therefrom in the opposite direction from the part 60and the part 61 is provided with an extension 62 which is preferablyformed so as to extend from the outer edge of the extension 61backwardly across the same and across the outer face of the extension 60of the other layer. These three parts 60, 61 and 62 are then preferablysecured together by means of a suitable adhesive or cement, and thecarrier is scored at 63 so that the extensions 60, 61 and 62, when notin use, will lie substantially parallel with the layers 11 and 12 of thecentral panel. When, however, it is desired to use these extensions tosupport bottles or other articles in the carn'er in upright positions,these extensions may be bent through approximately degrees, as shown inFigs. 1 to 5 and 7, so that they will partly underlie the articlessupported by the carrier when the same is on its side to support thearticles in upright positions. When these extensions or ledges 60 and 61are arranged to engage the bottoms of the articles, the articles shouldbe arranged at opposite sides of the central panel, since obviously, ifall the articles were arranged at one side of this panel, the supportingedges 60 and 61 would merely fold about their scored line 63 intopositions parallel to the central panel, and permit the articles to dropout of the carrier. The carrier, of course, may be lifted and carriedwith the articles upright when the extensions 60 and 61 of the layersare in their operative positions, but it has been found that the mostsatisfactory manner of lifting and carrying the carrier is by means ofthe handle portion 17 with the articles arranged horizontally.

When positioned in my improved carrier, the bottles or other articleswill tend to be swung by the outwardly extending parts or spacingmembers toward the central panel so that the side wall parts will pressthe articles toward this panel. This results in the gripping of thearticles by the carrier when the carrier is lifted and carried. However,when the carrier is set down on a table or other support, this grippingof the articles by the outer wall ceases, so that the articles caneasily be removed from the carrier. Since the pull exerted by the weightof the articles on the spacing members 18, 24 and 29 is distributed oversubstantial lengths of the folds or creases connecting these memberswith the side walls and with the sheets or webs comprising the centralpanel, the carrier has ample strength to support the articles.

It will be understood that various changes in the details, materials,and arrangements of parts which have been herein described andillustrated in order to explain the nature of the invention, may be madeby those skilled in the art within the principle and scope of theinvention, as expressed in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A carrier of flexible sheet material for articles, such as bottles orthe like, disposed horizontally therein, said carrier being formed oftwo layers of material arranged back to back to form a middle panel, aportion of each of said layers being provided with cuts spaced from theopposite sides thereof and with score lines connecting said cuts toenable parts of said layers to be moved outwardly from the planes ofsaid layers, parts of said outwardly moved parts forming outer sidewalls and other parts connected with said panels and said side walls byscored lines forming upper and lower walls of spaces into which thearticles may be inserted, integral extensions on one side of eachof saidlayers of said carrier extending in opposite directions from said middlepanel into positions across the ends of said spaces to engage articlesand retain them in said spaces when said carrier is on its side withsaid ends of said spaces on the bottom, and means connecting saidextensions to retain them in approximately degree relation to eachother.

2. A carrier according to claim 1, in which said carrier is scored toenable said extensions to be bent into positions to extend across theends of said spaces, and

into positions substantially parallel to said layers when not in use.

3. A carrier according to claim 1, in which said means connecting saidextensions is a relatively inflexible part overlapping and cemented toboth of said extensions to reinforce the same and to hold them incorrect relation to each other.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D.133,346 Marshall Aug. 11, 1942 2,054,641 Stone Sept. 15, 1936 2,085,104Levinson June 29, 1937 2,313,731 Brogden Mar. 16, 1943 2,545,589 SamsingMar. 20, 1951 2,653,750 Vines Sept. 29, 1953 2,676,731 Klein Apr. 27,1954

